Together, We are Whole
by coolcrystal
Summary: A series of drabbles and one-shots revolving around Tahno and Korra. They are water - she is his bending, his life, his love. I take requests, rating may go up. Drop by for a Tah n orra fix!
1. Her eyes

_Here's the first of a series of drabbles – I meant to write a longer fic, but I've yet to find inspiration to write something longer so I will continue to write drabbles until I strike gold. _

_Let me know what you think! _

_I do take requests! _

Water. He could feel it slip above his hands, freeze with his heart, steam with his anger. Life, that's what water was, his life. It flowed within him. He clenched his hands against his head – maybe to feel the pulse from his wrist, an ever-present sign that water flowed within him, maybe to knock out all the pain. Regardless, there was nothing, _nothing_, that compared to the connection he once had to his life. His water. Nothing.

But then there was the soft caress that ran over his hair, soothing and fluid. It calmed him in ways he could not explain – so foreign and familiar at the same time. Unclenching his hands, steadying his racing heart, he could hear the whisper_. Open your eyes_.

A deep breath.

An ocean.

A century.

Soft and blue, passionate and intense, strong and caring, they were everything he remembered. They were the gentle trickle of his first bending movements; they were the fierce crash of him at the arena. They guided, supported, and cared for him – and he, in return, would never let them slip away again.

They were Korra's, the Uh-vatar's, eyes.

They were water.

His life, his love, his bending.

And as he realized this, with a gentle kiss, he vowed to never let it go again.


	2. For her

Tahno saunters towards her – although it's half-heartedly done. The corner of his lips attempt to pull themselves, forming a shadow of the smirk that once used to sit there cockily. Even his eyes and hair, at one time so pristine and flamboyant and_ Tahno,_ are only sad imitations of the week before. He backs her into a wall and she lets him, she's _scared_, an emotion she rarely feels. It's not a fight she fears – she knows she can take him – but it's the look in his eyes, the effort he's putting into all these movements, these _acts_. This is not Tahno.

Broken. That's what he is, she realizes. His hair replaced by sinister curves, the lines of his lips moved by madness, anger and sadness at the core of his soul. All he appears to be to her is a puppet whose strings are too lose, too gone, stumbling over what used to be familiar movements. Coal smudged around his eyes, she can see him advance towards her, his long fingers stroking her face and pinning her to the wall.

"Well, well, well, _Uh-vatar_."

_Broken. _

"_Tahno_."

An earthquake shakes within him.

She wants to cry. She sees his eyes come to, actually grasp reality and all that he's acting out is a huge lie, that this is just who he used to be, that this life for him is gone. She sees him realize it and bury the sorrow and it hurts her more than she ever thought it would.

But he quells his tears as he sees one escape her brilliant, blue, beautiful eyes. Instead, Tahno forces his body to move, begs it to, and puts his efforts into nibbling on the shell of her ear. He feels her shake beneath him, but whether it's from tears or pleasure he'll never know.

"_Why are you pretending?"_

Because Tahno knows it hurts Korra to see him broken down. He knows she shakes with anger at night when she sees him mourn over the life he once had. So, if he must pretend, he will. For her.


	3. Shattered glass

_For Ladytiger14 – I hope this satisfies your prompt for now, I can always redo things. A joy to write! _

_How dare he, how dare he, how dare he! _The silent mantra steams through his head over and over and over just like the steam that is subconsciously heating up his hands. But _goddamnit_, he doesn't care if he burns his own hands, because _Korra currently sits in the corner, her beautiful face hidden in her arms, shoulders shaking, crying. _

_ All because of that damned firebender._

.

.

.

.

.

Tahno shatters the door, eyes locking in on Mako, the target in his sight.

"What did you _do_?"

But before a startled Mako can even breathe out a response, he feels a gush of water engulf his senses; sting his sinuses, his nostrils, his throat.

The power that washes over Tahno bests the rush he once had in the arena. Perhaps it's his newly regained bending, perhaps it's his need to protect Korra – whatever it is, all he knows is that power is crashing over him, that his capabilities now are _endless_.

Mako flips himself over, a line of fire moving through the air towards Tahno's feet from a quick kick from Mako.

Two fiery punches, a dodge.

Ice aimed for his neck, a block.

Fire. Fists. Water. Kicks. Headlocks. Fire. Steam. Ducks. Fire. Water. Fire. Water.

Aimed for the head, the neck, the chest, the two teenage boys go straight for the kill, one thing on their mind.

_Korra. _

With a smirk, "God, I can't even tell why she'd ever like _you_. You're positively immature – can't make up your mind, only cause her pain. If you don't like her enough to pick her over Asami, _get out of her life_."

"I just told her not to accuse Asami's father! I told her I had to stay with Asami! I'm trying to be faithful here! _You're insane_." Two fire daggers, which Tahno quickly dodged.

"Yeah? _Tell that to Korra's tears_."

A spark ran through Mako's eyes, a nerve hit.

There was a sudden clash of lightning and ice, a combustion which neither had seen the likes of before. The explosion was quick – no more than a second – but still seemed an eternity, all the power and pride colliding in the middle. The ice broke into smaller particles, each carrying a bit of lightning, resembling shattered glass. It flew around them, above them, below them, everywhere. Transfixed, their eyes gleamed with the oddly majestic image before them, not caring that they themselves were being scraped and tainted by their anger. Cuts formed over their bodies, small creeks of blood pooling down their skin.

Tahno flew through the manufactured rain, Mako still dazed. He crept around the firebender, whispered into his ear, "You hurt her again, and I'll make sure you never have the power to again." Final blow.

Darkness.

.

.

.

.

.

All Korra could feel was a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her, lips against her forehead. She relaxed into his touch, breathing in his scent.

"Thank you."

.

It wasn't until she felt the blood on his skin that she questioned what exactly had happened.


End file.
